Board Reports

President's Report

Caryl Heaton, DO

It has been a deep honor to serve as president to the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine for the past year. It has been a privilege to spend so much time with members of the Society at its various meetings and conferences. It will be difficult to convey the creativity, wisdom, and passion that I have been witness to during this time, but I will try. The state of the Society is strong, the opportunities before us are vast and exciting, the challenges before us can be met.

The Future of Family Medicine 2.0
The Special Task Force on the Future of Family Medicine was created to direct the most important resource of the Society, our members, to the implementation of the recommendations of the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) Report. The Task Force identified five priority programs for STFM. The first goal, FFM programming at all conferences, was met last year. The emphasis on FFM programming continues with this year’s theme for the Annual STFM Spring Conference, “Teaching for the Future of Family Medicine.” Another significant implementation in STFM programming came with the transformation of the conference formally known as the “Patient Education Conference.” The conference steering committee, composed of representatives from the AAFP and STFM, modified the title and perspective this year, becoming the “Conference on Practice Improvement: Health Information and Patient Education” in November 2006 and prominently offering sessions on the New Model of family medicine.

The second and third priority programs for the Special Task Force were a Competency-based Curriculum (CBC) to Teach Students and Residents about the New Model and Education for Preceptors in the New Model. The first step for both priorities was the development of the curriculum, so for this year, the programs were combined, and special curriculum advisory groups were developed on six topics: Advanced Access, Group Visits, Using Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Performance Improvement, The Chronic Care Model, and Evidence-based Medicine. Each group used protected sites on the Family Medicine Digital Resources Library (FMDRL) to post and discuss their work. The first edition of these curricula will be available on the public side of the FMDRL (www.fmdrl.org) this spring. I would like to offer my great thanks to the leaders of these special work groups and especially to Jeff Susman, MD, for his leadership on the Competency-based Curriculum project. This is just the first version of the CBC, a curriculum that can evolve and grow on the FMDRL. In the coming year, work will continue while we begin to use the tools provided so far. Next year will also see the beginning of work to modify the curriculum specifically for community preceptors.

The Special Task Force’s fourth priority program was STFM’s response to the FFM Recommendation #8: “Promoting a sufficient family medicine workforce.” We all know that recruitment of students into the family medicine pipeline is no small task and has been a priority for the AAFP for some time. Our task force subcommittee accepted this challenge with energy, imagination, and a spirit of collaboration. The program Web site, Future Family Docs (www.futurefamilydocs.org), rolled out in January and provides resources and inspiration for mentoring students from middle school to medical school. The Task Force, ably lead by STFM Board Member-at-Large Janice Benson, MD, also has developed new relationships (dare I say “new partnerships”) with mentoring programs from the National AHEC Organization, the AAMC, and of course, the AAFP. I am truly excited about the potential for Future Family Docs. I believe that it demonstrates the resources and commitment of our members.

Finally, the Special Task Force Priority for a Curriculum on Communication Skills and Cultural Competency has led to the production of new programs for resident applicants and newly matched residents who have lived most of their lives in other cultures. The STFM Entering Resident Academy has been developed this year and will be offered for the first time in May of 2007.  The purpose of this 2-day workshop is to orient participants to the principles of family medicine and critical communications skills necessary for success in residency. The STFM Residency Applicant Academy is currently under development and will be offered in the fall of 2007. The proposed 2-day workshop will introduce participants to principles of family medicine, components of the US health care system, professionalism, and interpersonal communication skills, especially those skills assessed during residency interviews. I would like to recognize the leaders of this initiative: John Rogers, MD; William Mygdal, EdD; Jane Corboy, MD; Kathy Zoppi, PhD; Deborah Seymore, PsyD; Jim Tysinger, PhD; Alison Dobbie, MD; and Laurel Milberg, PhD, for their work.

Special Initiatives
There are other special initiatives of the Society that continue to grow and a few new ideas that have just recently taken shape. The New Partners Initiative (NPI) has raised the consciousness of Society members to the opportunities for new relationships and the recognition of mutual interests with people and organizations outside of traditional academic medicine or the government. It is “intended to enhance our understanding of philanthropy as both a source of support and a way to become more engaged with our communities.” The Academic Fund-raising Workshop of the NPI was held again this year, and the New Partners Initiative Fellowship was offered to 12 participants. My thanks to Dr Mygdal and Larry Bauer, MSW, MEd, as they continue to lead this important enterprise for the Society.

Because a major goal of the Society is “to provide premier faculty development appropriate to the level of expertise and individual roles of our members, I am also pleased to report the first offering of a special initiative of the Education Committee and the Group on Predoctoral Education. The first session of the Predoctoral Directors Development Institute (PDDI) was held at the Conference on Predoctoral Education in Memphis in January 2007. Twenty-six participants began a year-long program specifically developed around the needs of the departmental predoctoral director. As a former predoctoral director, I am indeed proud that this program has been established, and I greatly appreciate the enormous work of Katie Margo, MD, PDDI chair, and the rest of the Steering Committee in its development. 

Other faculty development initiatives have begun this year under the direction of the STFM Board of Directors. The popular Faculty Development Workshop series was taken “on the road” last year, with a successful program in Los Angeles in November 2006. This was an effort to create new options for members who may not be able, for various reasons, to attend our national meetings. Evaluations and registration results were very positive. The Society will continue to provide this workshop and other innovative offerings in faculty development. Look for our first online course provided by the Society in the coming year.

My presidential year ends with one last special initiative that, I believe, is critically important to the profession of family medicine and to the American health care system itself. The Family Medicine Forum on Health Care Reform is fundamentally a faculty development program, which we hope will inform, energize, and inspire a broad discussion of health care reform within the discipline. I am proud of the outstanding group of family medicine educators that have agreed to participate. I am grateful for their commitment to, in the words of our STFM strategic goals, “advocate for social justice to improve health care for all people.” As educators and advocates, we must come together to work for reform of the American system. We must become informed providers and leaders for reform. We must work for the end of disparities in our system and a place for a relationship-centered family medicine home as the central component for such a reformed system. I am proud that STFM is offering this first Forum.

The Fundamentals
I would be greatly remiss if I did not mention our STFM groups. The groups provide the fundamental networking function for the members of this Society. They provide us with opportunities for improved understanding, collaboration, and fellowship. One goal for this year was to support the groups in any way possible. With the help of modifications to the Web site and FMDRL, communication within groups will be more effective than ever. Every STFM member can be connected to their groups through the “My FMDRL” function.

I want to heartily thank the entire staff of the Society, especially Stacy Brungardt, CAE, deputy executive director, and Roger Sherwood, CAE, our executive director. It may be that the president of this Society has the best vantage point to see how effectively and professionally the Society is managed. In his role as executive director, Roger has not only been a leader within the Society, he has been a leader in the field of family medicine. With the announcement of his plans for retirement this year, the Society indeed has big shoes to fill. A special Executive Director Search Committee was established this year, chaired by Dr Rogers to direct the hiring of his successor. Besides myself, the Search Committee also includes Robert Graham, MD; Janice Benson, MD; Dr Mygdal; Harry Strothers III, MD, MMM; Terrence Steyer, MD; Mike Magill, MD; Roger Sherwood, CAE; and Perry Dickinson, MD. A new executive director will begin work with the Society in October 2007.

The state of the Society is strong. Our conferences are vibrant and successful. Our membership is growing, and our financial standing is in the positive column! These successes are due to the talent, enthusiasm, and hard work of its members and staff. The vision of the Society is to be “a community of educators, researchers, and clinicians leading to change that measurably improves the health of all people.” I believe that we are that community, and I believe that in this year we have worked hard for change that improves the health of our patients and our communities.